Stephanie & Anthony

We got engaged while holidaying at Anthony’s family bach in Pataua North. We were walking along the beach when he got down on one knee with a shell ring that read “will you marry me”. It was the best proposal – just us, at one of our favourite spots.

We loved the idea of having a relaxed outdoor wedding. Anthony’s gran is a keen bowler at the Glendowie Bowling Club and both our families have a long affiliation with the area. That, combined with the fact Anthony’s last name is Bowler, made the venue perfect.

I’d always joked about having a Mexican-themed wedding and we thought it was a good way to have a bit of fun on our special day. The entire venue was decked out in bright pops of colour. Our ceremony backdrop was a curtain of satin ribbons and strung-up papel picado (Mexican paper art), while in the reception space we created a photo booth backdrop out of brightly coloured tissue paper pom poms and paper flowers.

The long dining tables were set with woven table runners and cacti pot plants grouped as centrepieces alongside candles in vivid shades. Each table setting had a polka dot napkin, a cacti-illustrated place name and a maraca as a guest favour. Throughout the rest of the room sat petite pom poms in hues of pink, orange and yellow, while outside we hung a piñata which provided a heap of fun when the band was on a break.

I fell in love with my Rue de Seine gown the moment I first saw it – particularly the long sleeves, its dramatic Cornelli lace and cut-out details.

I kept my jewellery simple with Zoe & Morgan earrings and my grandmother’s ring, but made a statement with strappy heels from Zara, featuring pom poms and tassels in bright colours and my wedding ring belonged to Anthony’s grandmother which is incredibly special.

It was amazing having my sister as my bridesmaid. She wore a fuchsia dress from Flo & Frankie and fun fuchsia and electric blue earrings from Gorman. Anthony and his groomsman both wore dark blue suits from Barkers; Anthony accessorised his with a bow tie, while his groomsman wore a black tie.

Eden from The Botanist created billy button boutonnières for the guys, which fit perfectly with our colour palette. She also created the gorgeous bouquets with pink, purple and orange blooms dotted with mustard yellow billy buttons and willow leaves – I couldn’t have been happier with the incredible results.

We love a good boogie, so having a great live band was very important. We’d seen the duo Jez and Wez at a wedding the previous year and loved them, so that was an easy choice. We didn’t want any of our 90 guests to have any excuse not to get up and dance, so had a stack of jandals that people could wear if they wanted to ditch their shoes.

One of the most precious moments was seeing my grandma. She was rushed to hospital the morning of the wedding, so between the ceremony and reception we went to see her at Auckland Hospital.

I was so happy our photographer Kimberley was with us to capture the moments with my grandma. Family is so important to us as a couple – it meant so much to have everyone with us.